By Tom Sims and Alexander Hübner

FRANKFURT (Reuters). Despite the devastating storms that hit the United States and the cold snaps which followed, 2021 was the most costly year for world-wide insurers. Munich Re warned Monday that the climate change has made extreme weather more common.

Last year’s insured losses caused by natural disasters reached $120billion, which was second to $146billion in damage during 2017’s hurricane season.

The annual tally by Munich Re, the world’s largest resinsurer, is higher than an estimate of $105 billion https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-storms-make-2021-one-most-costly-record-insurers-swiss-re-says-2021-12-14 that competitor Swiss Re (OTC:) published last month.

Munich Re reported that the U.S. was the most affected, having been ravaged by several tornadoes in December and hurricane Ida earlier in this year.

“The 2021 images of natural catastrophes are alarming. According to Torsten Jeworrek of Munich Re, climate research is increasingly confirming that extreme weather events are more common.

Similar to previous years, almost 10,000 people lost their lives due to natural disasters. The fourth-highest recorded total loss, which includes those that are not insured, was $280 billion.

Insured losses of $36 billion resulted from Hurricane Ida’s damage that spanned from New Orleans to New York. Around $15 billion was lost due to the winter storm which primarily struck Texas. The floods that struck Germany also cost billions.

“The 2021 disaster statistics look striking because some of these extreme weather events are the type that are likely become more frequent and more severe as climate change,” Ernst Rauch, Munich Re Chief Climate and Geo Science Scientist.

Many scientists agree that events in 2021 https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/from-killer-heatwaves-to-floods-climate-idUSRTS3M1JF were exacerbated by climate change and that there is more – and worse – to come as the Earth’s atmosphere continues to warm through the next decade and beyond.

With hurricanes Maria, Harvey, and Irma 2017, 2017 was the year with the highest record prices. Additional severe years included 2011, with big earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand, as well as 2005, when Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans.

As a result, some insurance companies have increased their rates or stopped offering coverage in certain areas.

As insurers warn about climate change and the costs associated with it, they themselves are under pressure from activists https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/with-sponges-petitions-climate-activists-take-insurers-2021-11-26 to stop insuring dirty industries.